Treatment of textile threads



NOV. 30, 1943. v s T AL I 2,335,726

TREATMENT OF TEXTILE THREADS Filed Sept. 8, 1942 VENTQRS Patented Nov. 30, 1943 TREATMENT OF TEXTILE THREADS Harry Maurice Averns and Walter Briggs, Coventry, England, assignors to Courtaulds Limited, London, England, a British company Application September 8, 1942, Serial No. 457,678 In Great Britain November 5, 1941 1 Claim. (1191-39) This invention relates to the treatment of textile threads, filaments, yarns and the like, herev inaiter referred to as threads, and in particular ,to the application of a small regular quantity ofa liquid to a travelling thread, such for instance as the application of a lubricating liquid to a thread of dry-spun cellulose acetate. The amount of liquid applied is preferably not in excess of 8 per cent by weight of the thread.

It has been known for many years that it is desirable to apply a small quantity of a lubricating oil to a thread of dry-spun cellulose acetate,

and one method of carrying this into efiect has been to pass the thread across the top of a pad or wick of which the lower end dips into a; receptacle containing the lubricating oil, so that the oil is drawn up the wick by means of capillary action, and as the thread passes over the top of thewick, taking with it a; small quantity of oil, a further supply of oil rises up the wick to take the place of that which is being continually removed .by the travelling thread. It has also been proposed to pass the thread in contact with and across the edge of a ,disc rotating about its axis, the lower edge of the said disc being submerged in a bath of the liquid to be applied. It has also been proposed to apply oil to the travelling thread by passing the thread through with oil. It has also been proposed to pass the thread over a wick or other absorbent material to which a controlled amount of liquid is supplied under pressure passing through a line tubular passage. It has also been proposed to pass the thread in contact with one part of a wire mesh screen, while another part of the said screen is in contact with the lubricating liquid,

the said liquid passing along the said screen by means-of capillary attraction until it reaches that portion with which the thread is brou ht into contact.

We have now found that we can apply to a travelling thread a small regular quantity of a liquid in amount-not exceeding 8 per cent by weight of the thread, by passing the travelling thread in contact with a surface supplied with liquid from a'i'eservoir by means of a capillary the tube is restricted solely by the length and capillary tubes slit along their length and filled" bore of the capillary tube and a small regular quantity of liquid is continuously supplied to the surface and the liquid is transferred from the surface to the travelling thread.

The surface with which the travelling thread is brought into contact and irom'which it takes up the liquid may conveniently consist of a pad such as-a piece of wick, but a guide of metal, glass or porcelain, or even the delivery end 01' the capillary tubing, may serve as the surface.

The capillary tubing may be in the form of a syphon arranged so that the short limb dips into the liquid in the reservoir and the long limb delivers the liquid without pressure to the surface,

the end of the long limb being situated at the necessary distance below the level of the liquid in the reservoir. The delivery end of the tube may be situated close to the surface with which the travelling thread comes into contact or it may be situated at any convenient distance from the surface so long as the liquid falls on to the said surface.

The quantity of the liquid delivered to the surface may be adjusted by raising or lowering the end of the tube in the reservoir containing the liquid or by raising or lowering the level of the liquid in the reservoir so as to obtain a greater or'smaller head of liquid, or if desired, the quantity of liquid delivered may also be adjusted by using a capillary tube of a larger or smaller bore. The viscosity of the liquid will naturally have an effect on the quantity of the liquid passing through the tube, a higher viscosity tending to slow down delivery. The temperature will influence the viscosity of the liquid, and it is advisable to maintain as constant a temperature as possible.

When using the process or this invention for applying an oil to a dry-spun thread of cellulose acetate of 150 denier, travelling at a speed of 300 metres per minute, a 20 centimetre length 01' capillary tubing of 1.5 millimetres internal diameter with a head of the liquid about 5 centimetres above the delivery end Of the tube will give a suitable degree of lubrication.

The accompanying diagrammatic drawing illustrates in cross sectional elevation one form of ap-' paratus used for carrying out the invention, al-

der the wick E which is supplied with lubricating liquid by means or the syphon F. After passing under the wick and taking up a small regular quantity oi the lubricating liquid, the thread A passes over the godet G and thence to a collecting device such as a cap spinning device (not shown) The syphon F consists oi! a length of capillary tubing with the short limb dipping into the lubrieating liquid contained in the oil channel J. The short limb of the syphon F is held in position by the holder K which is screw-threaded so that the capillary tube can be adjusted. The wick E is fastened to the supporting arm L by means oi the wire clip M. The supporting arm L is fixed to the oil channel J, at N. The lubricatin liquid from the oil channel J passes through the syphon F on to the wick E whence it is transferred to the thread A in small regular quantities.

The oil channel J runs the length of the spinning machine and syphons F are provided at spaced intervals for each end of thread. In order to maintain a constant head of liquid above the delivery end of the syphon F it is desirable to maintain the level of the liquid in the oil channel J constant by continually supplying lubricating liquid to make up for that used.

What we claim is:

Apparatus for applying to a travelling dry-spun cellulose acetate thread a small regular quantity of a lubricating liquid in amount not exceeding 8 per cent by weight of the thread which comprises, in combination, a reservoir for holding the lubricating liquid, a pad, a syphon for feeding the lubricating liquid to the pad, said syphon comprising a length or capillary tubing, the short limb of the syphon dipping into the liquid in the said reservoir and the long limb delivering the liquid without pressure to the padfthe end of the long limb being situated at such a distance below the level oi. the liquid in the reservoir that the required head of liquid is obtained to maintain the small regular flow or liquid on to the pad whereby for any one position 01' the syphon the quantity of the liquid being supplied to the pad is restricted solely by the length and bore 01 the capillary tube, and means for guiding said thread in contact with the lower surface of the pad.

HARRY MAURICE AVERNS. WALTER BRIGGS. 

